With the euro heading for parity with the pound, much of the eurozone looks prohibitively expensive for British tourists, which presents a real marketing opportunity for certain destinations.
One of those is Turkey, which is becoming an attractively priced mid-haul alternative to Spain, Italy or Greece.
Over the past decade, Turkey has improved its appeal significantly. There have been valid concerns over earthquakes and isolated terrorism incidents, but these have been offset by improving facilities in the coastal resorts and the addition of some high-end resorts such as Hillside Su, which provides a halo effect on Turkey’s hotel stock.
Charter flights have also increased and now provide direct services to many parts of this huge country. Turkish Airlines is generally an underrated carrier. The onboard meals are excellent and the staff are of a much higher calibre than the kids that pass for ‘cabin crew’ on some budget airlines.
That said, there can be a big difference in the aircraft. On a recent trip to Istanbul, the outbound flight on a Boeing 737 (about 160 passengers) was pleasant, with good legroom and service.
However, the return flight, on an Airbus 321 with over 200 passengers, was a very different story. It had the logistical hassle of a long-haul flight, which detracts from the ‘accessible’ message that Turkey needs to communicate.
The tourism infrastructure also needs some attention. But there is something endearing about the lack of fuss (including signage and information) made about your average Roman amphitheatre.
The big cities, such as Istanbul, retain massive tourism appeal with a fascinating cultural mix of west meets east and a heady atmosphere.
However in other aspects the metropolis can feel distinctly unfriendly to tourists. The rail infrastructure is generally poor, which can lead to congested roads.
And it may be part of Turkey’s ‘haggling’ culture, but it can be infuriating to negotiate with every taxi driver and bartender, when some transparent pricing would remove much unnecessary hassle.
Overall, one can see Turkey enjoying a bumper year in tourism terms. Operating giants such as Thomas Cook have invested heavily there and it should pay off.
But Turkey must continue to work hard at the customer experience, because as Spain found – a decade or so ago – a bad experience or two can soon reverse a promising trend.
